“Worries about iPad sales were beginning to pile up as Amazon launched its Kindle Fire,” Larry Dignan reports for CNET. “The biggest concern was that Apple was overdue for an iPad price cut.”

“However, some field work from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster may silence those fretting about iPad sales. Munster, who estimates Apple will sell 13.5 million units in the December quarter, concluded that the company’s flagship stores were selling 68 percent more iPads per hour than a year ago,” Dignan reports. “Specifically, Apple sold 14.8 iPads per hour at its retail stores. A year ago, Apple sold 8.8 iPads per hour on Black Friday.”

Dignan reports, “Other analysts were also upbeat about Apple’s iPad sales. Wedbush Securities analyst Scott Sutherland said: ‘Apple store traffic was extremely robust with positive checks at other channels. On Black Friday and over the weekend, we surveyed five Apple Store locations. On Friday, all five stores experienced wall-to-wall traffic…'”